Cellist with a bow to pick

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A frustrated musician will do it his way in a one-night
stand. Nigel Reynolds writes from London.

Australian-born concert musician Dave Loew, repeatedly refused a
contract by record companies, has hired the Royal Albert Hall for
one night to prove that he can cut the mustard as a soloist.

Loew, 55, has paid £15,000 ($A37,000) to play centre stage
at Britain's most famous concert hall and will spend another
£40,000 to hire a 30-piece orchestra to accompany him.

The former freelance player with the London Symphony Orchestra
said yesterday: "The record industry is stupid. They don't know
what they are doing and I want to say 'Up yours - how wrong you all
are and what a wonderful talent I am'."

Loew, whose grandfather, Vic Filmer, and father, Jack Filmer,
were band leaders, is not launching himself into the Albert Hall
from a standing start.

Spurned by record companies, he has produced three CDs of
himself playing classical, pop and jazz music. He had thousands
pressed in Germany at a cost of 50 pence each.

He then crisscrossed Britain with his £90,000 1901 Italian
Vincenzo Sannino cello, making personal appearances in record shops
and shopping centres. He sold CDs to passers-by and bullied store
managers into letting him leave a few copies on their racks.

With internet sales added, Loew has now sold almost 100,000
CDs.

"Hiring musicians and a studio to make a disc costs me about
£15,000. Then, it's 50 pence a copy to press them, something
for the shops and I am left with anything between £6 and
£9 for every disc I sell," he said. "I make a reasonable
living now. I've proved that people love my music."

His criticisms of the recording industry echo those of many
classical musicians. A combination of global agglomeration and
declining sales has resulted in record companies backing only the
big stars. They tend to support only glamorous, sexy performers,
such as Vanessa Mae or Opera Babes.

Loew, who started playing the cello at six, trained at the NSW
Conservatorium before moving to London. He returned to Australia as
principal cellist of the Australian Ballet and Opera Orchestra, and
then moved back to London, where he became a regular freelance
artist with the London Symphony Orchestra. He also played with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, in West End shows
and in film recording sessions.

His three albums are called Safari in Classics 1, 2 and
3. The tracks range from Handel, Vivaldi and Vaughan Williams
to arrangements of songs by Dido and the Beach Boys.

Loew has booked the Albert Hall for March 23 and hopes his
reputation and the backing of a 30-piece orchestra will fill the
3900 seats. A spokesman for the hall said yesterday: "It is pretty
rare that an individual takes this sort of risk. We wouldn't take
anybody, but Dave Loew has a cult following."